The D6 Conference ended with Rob Rienow. He is the family pastor at Wheaton Bible Church. Our small group has used his Visionary Parenting curriculum. I thoroughly enjoyed Rob's teaching last year at D6 and especially his theology of family. He walked us through several Scriptures related to family. Here are only a few quotes from him:

Reclaim the connection between the great commission and world evangelization.

He shared that until about 100 years ago churches had a theology of family that included living our faith at home. It was not until the 1900's that we began to outsource the spiritual training of our kids to the church.

For a full list of verses that he shared, visit his website at www.visionaryparenting.com.

Carey Casey is CEO of National Center for Fathering in Kansas City. He was a dynamic speaker with several interesting connections including President Obama, Tom Landry, and playing football in high school on the team the Titans played for championship game in the movie, Remember the Titans.

Casey started by saying, "We have a fathering crisis." He shared many statistics that show we need to do something to help fathers in America. He shared 3 things of Effective Fathering:

Loving-Fathers need to love their wives and their children. John 15:9Coach-Dads need to be involved in the life of their kids. Help them as they make choices in life. Proverbs 22:6; Deuteronomy 6:6-7Model. Our lives should speak to our children. We need to "be a sermon." John 5:19He challenged us to encourage a child who does not have a father (James 1:27) and enlist and challenge other fathers (Proverbs 27:17).

How does a D6 Model look in different sized churches? This is the question that Ryan Rush and Jon Cannon spoke about during their session. Some of the stats shared were that 94% of the churches in the United States are 500 members or less. And 59% are 100 members or less.

Jon Cannon speaking of his smaller church shared about all of their Sunday School classes are studying the same topic from children through adults. He shared about how they implement D6 in worship by allowing kids to see mom/dad worship rather than being separated from them all of them time in worship.

Ryan Rush shared a little about his larger church and how they changed their church culture. His acronym was HOME:Healthy HomesOngoing ObedienceMeaningful MilestonesEngaging EveryoneHere are a few other quotes they shared:

Doug Fields was answering the question, "How can I do it all?" I was looking forward to hearing Doug as I had heard him at Youth Specialties about 10 years ago. He also wrote one of my favorite books in youth ministry, Purpose Driven Youth Ministry. The anticipation was worth it as Doug Fields hit a home run with his talk on balancing family and ministry.

His talk was titled, Focus on your own d____ family (I have not censored him. This is how it was on the screen.)

He started by saying the leadership is primarily example. See 1 Timothy 4:12, 1 Corinthians 11, and 1 Thessalonians 2:7. He explained that in the Bible the image of a spiritual leader is not a CEO or manager but instead of a good father or mother. Someone worthy of imitation.

What happens when church or family collide? He said that most often we choose the path of least resistance which means we sacrifice our family for ministry. He reminded us that: Ministry Never Stops! He posed the question: Are we more…

The first speaker for Day 2 of the D6 Conference was Dr. Kevin Leman. I have to admit that I have not read any of his books because it seems they focus on behavior management rather than changing the heart. His words at the conference made me want to pick up one of his books.

He started by saying, "Marriage is in trouble!" He shared the statistic that only 1/1052 marriages end in divorce if a couple prays together 4 times a week. Here are a few quotes that he shared during his keynote:Parents need to be a healthy authority.False praise is destructive. Instead be an encourager.God is not authoritarian. Rules without relationship leads to rebellion (quote by Josh McDowell).Let reality be the teacher.Fighting with our kids is an act of cooperation. We are in charge not them.We should respond rather than react.Train up a child (Proverbs). It is not instant. Also, we need to remember that it is the way God would have them go not us as parents.We should not use warnings w…

Jim Burns was the last speaker on Day 1 of the D6 Conference. He shared about a quote in his office which says, "When you reach the family, you reach the world." According to Burns, the purpose of the church is to mentor parents. As he talked about Deuteronomy 6:4-9, he shared how this would have been the first verse that Jesus heard being raised Jewish. Deuteronomy 6 does three things: shows fidelity to God, shows how to transmit faith, and gives us a constant reminder.

Burns shared we needed to make 3 paradigm shifts:

Discipleship begins in the home. We, in the church, are to be facilitators. We must resource them.Must teach parents to be become students of culture.Our job is to set the pace. We need to lead with integrity & authenticity and with margin.He also had 3 questions we needed to ask ourselves in ministry.Do I like the person I am becoming?Is the work of God I'm doing destroying the work of God in me?Am I only giving my family the emotional scraps?

Steve Wright was interviewed on the main stage. Steve is the author of A Parent Principle. He shared a few practical steps to make the transition in our churches.

Here are his 6 steps of how to make the transition to being a D6 church:Nehemiah 1:4 modelBased in theology (not just another program)Affect lives personallyBuy-in with leadershipImplementing practicesSee it through (when it gets difficult we cannot quit, but must stay and make it happen)"We teach what we know, but we reproduce who we are."

The next speaker we heard was Vicki Courtney. She has written the book, 5 Conversations You Must Have With Your Daughter.

She shared what were the top 3 faith busters.

Model something other than love of God as your ultimate affection. If our children see our affection for anything other than God, it can dramatically affect their faith.Fail to acknowledge your role as the primary discipler of your child. Focus more on behavior modification than heart inhabitation. She shared we can become more concerned with our image maintenance than on what is best for our kids. We need to remember our kids are sinners just like we are. We need to ask when our children misbehave, "what was going on in your heart?" We need to constantly emphasize God's love story of redemption over rules. We cannot expect perfection.

The opening session at D6 was Ed Stetzer, President of LifeWay Research. He was answering the question, "For parents who have developed children to be faithful and passionate Christ followers as adults, what exactly is it they did to produce such spiritual champions for Christ?

Here are some quotes from him:

Three things he brought out from Deuteronomy 6:4-9The necessity of sharing your faith. It must be ongoing and repeated. This is not sin management but new life.We must live the spiritual life. He talked about the importance of the rhythm of life (walk, rise up, etc.) We as parents cannot lead what we don't live.There is a need for marking your home. He then shared about a research project they had just recently completed answering the question above. He shared 7 predictors that occurred in the homes of effective parents. These are things that seemed to influence the spiritual development of their children. They are:Regularly spent time in prayerAchieved good grades …

A Grace Based Strategy for Family Ministry by Tim KimmelDevotions Kicked Up A Notch by Tina HouserOur Newest Milestones Developments & Milestones FAQ's by Brian HaynesMobilizing Families to Go & Be by Thad HarrisHow to Motivate Dads to Be Spiritual Leaders by Larry Fowler

It has been a busy day full of information and great ideas. I will share a few later. Here are a few quotes that spoke to me:

Satan knows them (our three inner needs) and provides counterfeits. (Kimmel)Parents need to "treat our kids the way God treats His" (Kimmel)Leaders who mobilize families to Go & Be must first be moved themselves, prioritize God's Mission in what is communicated, & prioritize God's Mission in what is planned. (Harris)To equip families we need to provide a simple demonstration. (Haynes)Family devotions bring us together in a society that keeps us busy and separate. (Houser)Dads need to know their unique…

In about 15 minutes, I am headed to the D6 Conference in Dallas with Brad (our associate pastor of youth ministry) and Justin (college friend from Medicine Lodge). I am excited about this conference. I attended last year and learned a lot. I am hoping for the same this year! I will try and post quotes and thoughts from labs and speakers throughout the next few days. The conference goes from Wednesday morning through Friday afternoon. Check back daily to see if I have posted something new. Have a great week!

Wow! The last few weeks have been a whirlwind of activity. The next week is filled with travel and 2 conferences. I am very excited about it, but getting ready to leave on trips means tying up loose ends. This is where the busyness comes in. Last night, I was anxious about getting everything done before I leave Friday morning. I even was a little stressed this morning.

But then I did something I should have thought of earlier. I stopped and prayed. I asked God for help in completing the things that needed to get done. It is amazing how much God loves us and cares for us. He is truly interested in my entire life, not just my big decisions. So, today I was able to accomplish many of my tasks in a fraction of the time they usually take. I am now relaxing and going to try and remember to pray the next time this stress or anxiety creeps into my work schedule.

Thanks be to God who hears my prayers, has the power to answer them, and loves me!

Well, I am sorry I have not posted anything for awhile. But life has been busy. I was thinking the other day about doing some posts on postures of worship. But I am still undecided. For now, I will let you know that the next two weeks will be busy for me. Pastor Brad & I are headed out of town for two different events. The first is next weekend (Sept. 10-11) in Edmond, OK. We will be attending a theological forum on the atoning sacrifice of Christ sponsored by the MB Southern District and the MB seminary. We have read several Bible passages and articles and I look forward to the dialogue. I hope to post something after Saturday about our conversation.

The second trip will be to the D6 Conference (Sept. 15-17) in Dallas, TX. This will be my second year to attend. This conference was a great experience for me last year and I learned a lot. Not to mention all of the contacts and exhibitors who were there too. If you have never heard of the D6 conference, check out their w…